By any other name
by Queen Tonda O Lay
Summary: It had been the news on everyone's lips for weeks, the shock of Wizarding Britain, The Daily Prophet named it: The sign of true change, The Quibler called it: Sign of the Apocalypse! Lily Potter was marrying Scorpius Malfoy.
1. Prologue

It had been the news on everyone's lips for weeks, the shock of Wizarding Britain, The Daily Prophet named it: _The sign of true change, _The Quibler called it: _Sign of the Apocalypse. _ What ever anyone said about it, they all agreed on one thing, it was nearly as hard to believe as a baby defeating (temporally) the most evil wizard in modern times.

Lily Potter was marrying Scorpius Malfoy!

At first people thought it was a joke, Harry Potter's only daughter marrying the son of his school boy nemesis. Everyone knew the Malfoy's and Potter's hated each other, Lucius was at one time the right hand man to the wizard that murdered Lily and James in an attempt to kill their baby son. Harry and Draco hated each other, She was a Gryffindor and he wad a Slytherin. It just couldn't happen, but it did.

Scorpius proposed on her twenty third birthday, in front of hundreds of people and her whole family at the world cup, the Quidditch world cup that is. Few people knew they had been together for quite some time, since her sixth year. They kept it very quiet, not even all their friends or in his case family knew. People were aware that they were friends of course, they had been seen together all the time at Hogwarts and occasionally in Diagon alley looking at broomsticks.

Everyone wondered how their parents would take the news. Would Draco be outraged? Would Harry forbid it? "Well Narcissa did help save Harry's life." "But Lucius nearly killed Ginny." "Who could forget about how Molly Weasley killed Bellatrix, who did try to kill Ginny." "Arthur Weasley is a muggle lover!" "Lucius was a Death Eater!"

The happy couple didn't care what people had to say, for as long as almost anyone could remember people had been talking about their family's.

Neither party's parents were opposed, they had long ago gotten used to the idea of them being together. Of course that wasn't the case when they told them they were dating.

Not everyone was happy obviously, some said she was a blood traitor, betraying her all her father's sacrifices to _'Sit in the lap of the purist prince.' _ Others said that he was the traitor, as the only heir to the Malfoy line it was his _"job" _to cary on the line of pure blood that has flown through the family's veins for hundreds of years. Lily and Scorpius always held their heads high, a solid retort always at the ready for every reason they shouldn't be together.

Eventually the wizards of Britain would come to accept them together, after all who doesn't like happy endings?


	2. The Snitch

**A/N: So I decided to make this a multi chapter story. I'm thinking of it being like a series of important moments in their relationship from beginning to end. I'd love to know what you think ( does it sound like a good idea?) :) **

**The Snitch.**

Scorpius Malfoy of Slytherin and the Potter children of Gryffindor had an unspoken agreement, 'Don't bother me and I won't bother you.' and for six years not one word, sneer, or jinx breeched said agreement. Well off the Quidditch pitch at least, but that was to be expected considering they did play for rival houses. It was much like the way their parents behaved they avoided each other when possible and in the event that it wasn't there was a mutual albeit cool respect for one another. They stayed out of each other's way and everyone liked it like that. It caused less problems that way, no one saw the need to keep the old feud going, the war ended years before they were born it was time to let old grudges die.

Not that it meant they had to like each other.

* * *

The story of Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy began here, on the pitch during the biggest match of the year; Gryffindor vs. Slytherin for the Quidditch cup.

" And Gryffindor takes the lead! 90 to 80. Nice shot there Ms. Wood. Still no sign of the snitch." Announced the seventh year Huffelpuff named Quinn Turner.

The match was a fierce one, they were going into the fourth hour, each team giving their all to keep the other from winning. The whole season had been a close one, no one was sure who would win. At any moment one team could pull a trick out of the bag and have the whole shebang.

It was a comfortably cool, sunny, spring day, no clouds or wind, the perfect game day wether. Both teams were quickly being warn out and yet there still was no sign of the snitch, the game didn't look like it would be ending any time soon ( much to the displeasure to some of the players who were looking forward to a good nap) when suddenly it was spotted.

"Lily Potter has seen the snitch folks! There she goes," Quinn called out as the red headed fifth year zoomed past him. "And there goes Scorpius Malfoy, hot on her tail! Looks like it's going to be a race to the finnish. Potter has the lead but Malfoy is catching up fast. Nice save there by Slytherin keeper Jamie Boyd!"

Lily spotted the snitch hovering low to the ground at the edge of the pitch near the base of the Ravenclaw stands. Spotting Slytherin's seeker on the other side, she knew now was her chance. Taking off from where she had been hovering by the Gryffindor goals, she began weaving her way to the the little winged ball of glittering gold.

She was less then an arm's length away when the ball took off across the field high into the sky. Malfoy was right behind her as she followed the path of the ball. Leaning forward on her broom till her nose was nearly touching the smooth polished wood she suddenly shut straight up high above the players, circling back around Malfoy did the same.

Above all other action it was easy to spot the ball, there were no obstacles to block them. The only problem was catching up to it, the snitch led the pair of a goose chase staying just out of reach. For over half an hour the red and green clad flyers battled beneath them as they circled this way and that cutting each other off, dodging the occasional bludger hit from below. Nearing the fifth hour of the match the sun hung low in the sky blinding players and fans alike, giving the Gryffindor team an advantage.

"The score is tied folks! It's been a long grueling match here today, a great fight on both sides. The way things are going this may be the first final played between these two houses in over a hundred years where not one foul was called! Our seekers are doing a fine job today but the snitch just doesn't want to be caught it looks like! Merlin's Beard! Take a look at that, the Snitch had flown even higher, in this sun I can hardly tell who is who"

One hundred meters above the stands Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were neck and neck, flying at blinding speeds, leaning as far as the could with their arm out stretched. Lily being lighter had a slight advantage, she just the tinniest bit ahead of him. Lily leaned nearly her entire body off the silvery black _Lightning-bolt_, her hand was just about to close around the flying orb when a poorly aimed bludger hit by a sun blinded beater hit collided with the tail end broom . The broom was sent spinning throwing her off, hurtling to the ground. There was a collective shriek from the stands and players. Even if they were able to slow her fall the injuries she should sustain would be detrimental if not fatal. Even slowed the force of impact from a near two hundred meter fall was bone shattering.

In a split second decision the Slytherin took off in a shape nose dive straight down willing his broom to speed faster then she hurtled towards impact. Pulling up hard he threw out his arms and caught the falling girl around the waist. A loud sigh of relief followed by thundering cheers came from the crowd as he pulled her onto his boom. " Merlin's left nut! What a daring rescue by sixth year Slytherin Seeker, Scorpius Malfoy. Talk about good sportsman ship, a _Slytherin_ giving up a sure win to save a _Gryffindor_. Not to mention he is a Malfoy and she is a Potter. As we all know there has been longstanding bad blood between the Potter-Weasley's and the Malfoy's. Their father's were each other's biggest rival during their time as seeker's and students here." Exclaimed Quinn sounding as if he were so excited he might burst.

"It's alright Potter, I've got you."

The Slytherin circled the pitch once to make sure she was secure and adjust to the addition of weight to his broom before heading up after that lucrative ball. Seated behind him Lily wrapped her arms tightly around his abdomen forcing him self to ignore the fact she may have been trying to crush his ribs (she did just have a nearly fatal experience) he pressed on in his search. Spotting it hovering near by he turned in that direction. Despite her fall Lily was undeterred in her goal, unwrapping her arms she reached out for the ball ("Talk about a close fight!") but it was Scorpius's long pale fingers that closed tightly around the snitch.

"It looks like Malfoy has caught the Snitch everyone Slytherin had won the game!"

As they reached everyone below Scorpius held up the still fluttering ball and took his victory lap. Despite losing Lily couldn't help smile. It was only fair after all she thought. He had saved her, he could have left it up to someone else maybe catching her while he easily grabbed victory but he risked the win for her.

Scorpius landed his broom smoothly a short distance from the red clad team to let Lily off. Before their feet touched the group Albus Potter was running full speed to them. Carefully she dismounted only to be pulled into her brother's strong arms. Although he did not show it through often physical display, Albus cared deeply for his younger sister, so much so that in that moment as he watched her free fall he wished with all he had that he could take Lily's place. Before either sibling could say anything, the Slytherin zoomed off to his own team, eager to celebrate victory.

As the Slytherin's celebrated their achievement in earning the title of champion for the year, by hoisting their seeker into the air and onto their shoulders. The whole of Slytherin house rushed onto the field to rally around the team. Everyone was glad the game was over.

As the worn out players on both teams made way towards the locker rooms, Lily was hurried off by Professor Longbottom ( a family friend) to the infirmary to check that she did not sustain any sort of injuries from the bludger or from when Mr. Malfoy caught her.

* * *

On his way back to the castle Albus spotted Scorpius walking up ahead with several of his team mates "Malfoy." He shouted, when the blond made no indication that he had heard him Albus tried again louder. "Hey Malfoy!" This time he was heard. The group of Slytherin's stopped and turned around to see just who was calling their star. When Scorpius saw who it was he motioned for his friends to continue on ahead, letting them know he would catch up latter.

Potter jogged to where Malfoy was waiting with a questioning look on his face. "Hey" Albus said slowing his pace to walk with him "Back there I didn't get a chance to say thank you." Running his hand through his hair he swallowed before continuing. Not sure exactly what to say, he sort of rambled "I don't know what I'd have…. you know if you didn't. She would have…" he finally trailed off awkwardly .

The other boy nodded in understatement. " Right. I hope she is okay…"

The two stood there for a moment in awkward silence looking at each other but not knowing what to say.

Finally Albus spoke. "Well, I'm going to go check on her."

As he started to walk away Scorpius stopped him "Potter," Sticking his hand out he said "Good game today."

Looking at the outstretched hand for a second Albus Potter did the same, shaking hands with the "_enemy"_. "You too. And congratulations."

* * *

Upon being throughly inspected and declared fine Lily headed up to the tower all she wanted was to change out of her robes and shower, if she hurried she would be able to do both before dinner stated. The atmosphere in the common room was subdued, the disappointment at loosing the house cup was settling in, especially for the seventh years who wouldn't have another chance for it. When Lily climbed into the portrait hole several people looked up thinking of something to say but she ignored them, hurrying to get clean. The faster she cleaned up the sooner she could go and eat.

Dinner was underway as the rambunctious Slytherin Quidditch team bust into the great hall, greeted by loud cheers from their green clad table as well as some less enthusiastic clapping from the table's whose houses did not play that day.

Once everyone was settled down and the volume in the Great Hall had returned to it's typical low roar , Headmistress McGonagall rose from her seat at the center of the head table to address her students.

"Good evening. First off I would like to begin by commending both teams today for one of the best matches I have seen here at Hogwarts in all my years, I am quite pleased with how fair everyone conducted themselves out on the pitch," The elderly, but still quite powerful witch couldn't help but glance quickly at the Slytherin table (after all they have been known to regularly play dirty)

" We had quite the scare out there today, but thankfully, and I am sure you are all glad to hear, Ms. Potter is completely fine." simultaneously nearly every head in the room turned towards the Gryffindor's as if to check for themselves.

Regaining everyone's attention she carried on, "and on that note I personally would like to award, for Mr. Scorpius Malfoy's quick thinking, and excellent sportsmanship in the saving of Ms. Lily Potter, fifty-five points to Slytherin."

Once again the green and silver house erupted into cheers, standing up and chanting their seeker's name. On the other side of the Great hall at the table set for those of red and gold, one by one the members of the Gryffindor team, followed by the rest of the house, all led by Lily Potter her self, stood up and clapped for him. After all they were rather thankful she didn't hit the ground. The only thing worse than loosing to Slytherin would have been loosing to Slytherin _and _loosing their seeker all in one game.

Indeed it was a strange site to see, Gryffindors cheering for a Slytherin more specifically a Malfoy (one that was caught on film thanks to Annie Creevey.) Years latter, as sentimental as it sounded, those present would swear that they had never felt more house unity then they had then. A few students even swore the usually stern headmistress was smiling wider then the Cheshire Cat.

As the applause died and people began retaking their seats the Seekers caught each other's eye. For a moment everything seemed to go silent around them, deaf to all the noise. Sooner then either would have liked, Scorpius's smile worked like a switch, Tuning them back into reality.

That night both would have trouble sleeping despite the physical exhaustion, the thought of strong arms holding them tightly plagued both their minds well into early morning.


	3. Shades of Red

**Shades of Red**

The students of Hogwarts were eager to get home as the boarded the Hogwarts Expresses, a gleaming scarlet steam engine parked in the station of Hogsmead village.

Lily Potter was especially excited to be going home. She was glad to be finished with her O.W.L testing and wanting nothing more than to kick back and relax with all her cousins at The Burrow for the annual _Weasley Hogwarts Home Coming and start of summer BBQ. _ As long as she could remember (and before she was born) all of her cousins, aunts, uncles, her grandparents and her father's godson gathered at her grandparents home to celebrate the end of the school year. The men would gather around a large stainless steel barbecue that Arthur Weasley bought at a muggle camping shop, each taking turns supervising the grilling of hot dogs and burgers. To feed such a large family it was no easy undertaking, it was similar to feeding a small army.

There were several unofficial traditions when it came to the "Great Grilling event" as Louis named it ; Uncle Percy _always _burned him self when it was his turn to grill,

Uncle Bill would see how many ways he could cook food without fire (rendering most of it cursed and inedible) not to mention his idea of thoroughly cooked was extra rare,

Uncle George would charm the food to have different effects when eaten,

Uncle Ron would end up eating most of the food he was grilling until someone noticed and took his place,

Uncle Charlie would end up telling a story about one of his dragons using the grill's fire as a visual by turning the flame up as high as it could go, scaring Molly through one of his stunts, and charing the food in the process.

In the end the job would be passed onto Harry who was the only one who actually had experience in cooking with muggle tools(after all he did grow up in a muggle home ).

Besides the food making fiascos there were stories to be told, family members to catch up with, swimming, races, games, Grandpa Arthur always had the latest muggle invention to show off, Grandma Molly always had home made sweets to give out, and at the end of the night came Uncle George's firework show.

The firework show consisted of all the best _Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes_ had to offer. An elaborate light show of dragon fights, spinning wheels, images, things that rained harmless spark showers, magical creatures that raced across the sky, a few things being tested for the first time, things that were to cool to be sold, and always at the end _'In loving memory of Fred.'_ which instead of fading, exploded into hundreds of small sparking balls that went chasing after everyone scattering the family across the yard. It was defiantly the most fun family event of the year in her opinion.

What Lily was not looking forward to was the eight hour train ride from school to King's Cross. Hauling her trunk behind her, she found the compartment her cousin Hugo and their best friend Frankie Longbottom were sitting in. "Well boys we made it through another year." She said as she threw her self down on the seat and laying her legs across her cousin's lap. "That we did Lils, that we did." Frankie said in agreement.

Soon they felt the train lurch forward beginning its journey to London.

Around noon Lily left the boys to take her prefect rounds. This was another thing she hated about the train ride, they changed the rounds, randomly parring up two people instead of having them patrol with one of their usual partners. Not that the prefects actually patrolled with who ever they were paired with for this, on the train they were typically dispatched to each start at opposite ends of the Hogwarts express and work their ways to where the other one started. By doing this it ensures that (if things go properly) a prefect will never be far off if needed and it also allows the shifts to be shortened to one hour. Where as when they used to send two pairs out at a time they would go for two hours in order to cover the whole eight hours.

Lily was assigned to begin at the back of the train. The last car was usually filled with a hodgepodge of students who were running late and couldn't find a seat any where else. She had no idea who she was on patrol with she figured it didn't matter anyway. Slowly she began checking in on every compartment , occasionally stoping in to chat with people she was friendly with, three times she had to interrupt couples who had gotten a little too into their games of tonsil hockey, and she had to break up one fight between two first years. About half way through the patrol she was close to the middle of the train, she knew she should have been one car a head but she got a little side tracked when she reached the compartment her brother Albus, cousins Rose, and Fred, along with two of their friends were.

Crossing between the two middle cars was the most dangerous. Being that they separated what was considered the front from the back it was attached differently. Instead of having the usual set of steps (used for getting on and off at the station) onto a bridge like platform, there was just a narrow beam barely wide enough to fit both feet with a large bolt in the center that was easy to trip over if one wasn't careful especially on the christmas holiday. The only thing to protect someone from falling off was a thin rope on either side to be used as a hand rail.

Lily slip open the interior door before unbolting and sliding the outer door to the middle of the train open and stepping out carefully looking at where to put here feet. She always feared the way the the tracks rushed by so closely beneath her feet that she felt if she didn't look where she was stepping the whole time the beam might disappear. So concentrated on the beam was she that she didn't even notice someone else doing the same thing at the same time until she collided with them. She yelped as she grabbed onto the ropes as slightly as she could. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you I was…" She began, looking up to see the smirking face of Scorpius Malfoy. "It's quite alright," he said smoothing this robes as is it were her and not the wind created by the speed of the train that had mussed his robes.

The two prefects looked past each other and then down at the narrow steel beneath their feet. There was only room for one person to cross at a time, no way could they get around each other. They seemed to realize this at the same time, one of them would have to move back into the train and let the other get buy.

"Oh uh, let me-"

"I'll just."

Lily began at the same time as Scorpius.

"No it's fine, I bumped into you," she went to reach for the handle behind her but the blond shook his head.

"No no. Ladies first."

"Are you sure I mean it's no big deal."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. "Potter, I insist. Ladies first, _my _parents raised me to be a gentleman. It's only _proper._" and there was that haughty smirk of his again.

Lily didn't like what he seemed to be implying about the way her parents raised her brothers. However she didn't have a chance to say anything about it because he had already stepped back into the car from which he came and was holding the door open for her. Sighing she went to step forward over the large bolt, but just as she did the train took a sharp turn meaning they had rounded the mountain. The beams beneath her feet shifted at the bolt, and Lily felt her self loose her balance as she was thrown to her left, she desperately grabbed for one of the ropes. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the tracks rush up to greet her before she was sucked under the train. However, instead of feeling the impact and crushing wheels Lily felt an iron grip clamp onto her wrist and yank her back, sending her tumbling into her savior.

Once the redhead was balanced the hand released her arm, which she immediately began to rub. She would defiantly have a bruise but it was better than being road kill. "Careful there Potter." Scorpius's voice didn't have that usual pompous tone to it. Rather it sounded like it had back in late April when he caught her on his broom. _Safe and warm._ Lily felt her cheeks heat up and knew that they were matching her tie at the moment . _Of all people…_ "Thanks, again. Haha…" her laugh came out awkwardly making her cheeks burn brighter. _He must be getting a kick out of this!_ she thought.

raising one perfectly shaped eyebrow, he said to her;

"Yes. Well it would be a shame if you were to have fallen under. I believe as a prefect It would be my duty to have them stop the train to gather your remains and all. It would be such an_ inconvenience_ to be stuck on here longer then need be. Don't you agree?" The Slytherin's voice was back to it's usual cool, arrogant tone as he smiled before stepping past her. She couldn't help but notice the cocky glint in his grey eyes.

_Yup. Defiantly getting amusement out of this. _

"Now do excuse me. " Stoping for a second he turned back "Potter, _try _and watch out. It appears as if gravity has it out for you and next you may not be so lucky as to have me around." and with that he slipped out the door leaving her to her indignant embarrassment.

* * *

For both prefects the rest of the trip to London was dull. Their patrols finished unceremoniously and they both returned to sitting with their friends for the remaining four hours.

Scorpius stepped off the scarlet steam engine, trunk in tow. Quickly he spotted his father, the tell tale Malfoy blond hair being a give away (amongst the browns, blacks, and other dull shades silver blond is not hard to notice). Upon seeing his only son, Draco Malfoy's pointy face broke into a grin "Welcome home." The father and son shook hands cordially. It may have looked out of place amid the hugging parents and children but it was the way things were done in his family.

As the two purebloods left the platform the younger couldn't help but notice the large, noisy mass of mostly carroty redheads all clustered together. He thought there must have been at least thirty of them, all hugging each other, shouting things and laughing as they were pulled from one person's arms into another's, each looked as if it were the happiest day in their lives.

It was only natural that in his chest he felt a pang of jealousy when he saw the messy black haired man pull his sixteen year old son to him in a loving embrace, not caring if anyone thought them less masculine for it.

His father was not a warm affectionate person, none of them really were. Scorpius hadn't been hugged by the man since he left for his first year. At least in public.

Once they were behind closed doors, just father and son… and of course mother, Draco Malfoy was a different man. As soon as Scorpius stepped through the ornately carved front door of his family home he was pulled into his own father's chest (and smothered by kisses from his mother, leaving vermillion lipstick stains on his pale cheeks.)

When Astoria Malfoy told her husband they were expecting Draco swore he would be different from his own father. He never wanted his child to feel that had to earn their father's love the way he had. Lucius was a cold unaffectionate father who rarely if ever showed more than superficial concern for his son at least until after the war. Narcissa was, thankfully, quite the opposite, doting on him and while he was at school writing him everyday to remind him that he was the apple of her eye. He made sure his son knew he would not have to keep him constantly pleased to be loved, Scorpius would be loved simply because he was born. There was nothing Scorpius could do to not be loved by his father, but this didn't mean he could do what ever he wanted. There were things excepted from him, after all he had a name to uphold.

In a situation completely different from the Weasley's, the five member's of the Malfoy family sat at the table set for forty in the ancient dinning room of Malfoy Manor. It was a typical meal, stiff, formal, and all together unwelcoming, much like the family it's self. Lucius sat at the head with his wife to his left, his son to his right, his daughter-in-law next to his wife, and his grandson across from her.

"How was the remainder of your year?" the head of the family asked,

"It went well." responded the boy in question, placing down the bit of steak he was about to eat. "And your final exams?"

"I'm expecting all O's"

Lucius nodded in approval, he was a hard man to please.

"And Scorpius, the house cup?" the old man's cold grey eyes landed on his grandson expectantly. Lucius held only to the highest standards, he was, during his time as a student, a prefect, top of his class, and eventually Head Boy. Now even as an old man he expected no less.

"Slytherin, naturally."

Another nod from the silver haired patriarch and the conversation was over. Letting out a small sigh the young Slytherin felt relief, he managed to stay in his grandfather's good book, at least until next Christmas.

For the first time in his life, as Scorpius sat silently eating (the only noise in the room being the scraping of silverware on china), he asked himself why they sat at such an opulent table set for so many when he had never once seen more then a hand full of people dine here. It seemed to be such a waist to him. Why have all the silver polished, the plates washed, and the table set every day when only five people were to be taking meal there? He was more than sure his family didn't even have thirty-five people to invite for a dinner party anymore, they were no longer as prestigious as they liked to pretend. He only knew of one family that could possibly ever need a table for so many and thought how out of place all that brightly colored hair would look in contrast to the drab and dreary decor of the room. Trying to picture it made him nearly laugh. Instead he quietly coughed a few times before taking a good sip of his drink. Earning him only a concerned glance from his mother in stead of the sharp reprimand he would have received other wise.

He could never imagine a family, one so warm and close sitting for a meal the way his own family did the thought came off as unnatural. It had never before crossed his mind that not all family's had formal dinners regularly or that things could be done differently. He always assumed that it was just the way things were done, but now as he thought about it, really thought about it, the idea was ludicrous. At one time every wizarding family had, but those days were long past, it was an archaic practice now. Toying with the ruby colored charm shaped like a flower that hung from the gold bracelet in his pocket, he found his thoughts that evening constantly wondering back to one question; _What was her family doing right now?_

* * *

_**Thoughts?**  
_


	4. London

**London.**

It was a hot day in early August and Scorpius Malfoy was lost… and thirsty. He had absolutely no idea where he was other then that it was some where in _muggle _London. He was supposed to be in Diagon Alley buying school supplies but since it was his first time going alone he thought he might just go explore.

He had never really been to muggle London before, well he had but only to go to wizarding places like the ministry or the hospital, he knew where they were but had no idea how to get there or how to get back to the Leaky cauldron. At the time it seemed like a good idea, he was seventeen and was going all by himself, why not go have a little adventure? What could go wrong?

So when Scorpius arrived via the floo in the centuries old bar known as the Leaky Cauldron, he strode out the front door rather then heading out back and taping on the bricks he knew hid the Wizarding world of Great Britain's shopping district . At first it was great, everything was so different it was like being on a vacation in a foreign country. There were so many bright lights and cars, muggles talking into weird plastic things, stores with displays of giant moving pictures that talked! Walking along so distracted by what was in the windows, he payed no attention to where he was going until he realized he was thirsty and should head back to the tavern.

That is how he ended up wandering around completely lost, and growing thirstier by the second, now why not apparate? He didn't get his licensee to do so yet his birthday was only the day before after all. He thought of asking someone the way back but remembered that only wizards and witches could see it, he was screwed.

Resigned to the fact he would have to settle for stopping at a muggle establishment he set off to find something decent. The streets all looked the same and nothing looked good, everything was dreadfully dull and a few places were even a bit seedy. Eventually he came across a place that looked fairly decent. Stepping in through the plate glass doors he felt a rush of cool air that felt wonderful, how they managed that with out a cooling charm he had no idea but it was wonderful none the less. Patiently he waited online in the brightly colored place, not knowing what to order at all, nothing sounded familiar he had never heard of Dr. Pepper or Sprite…apparently it was some sort of Soda but that meant nothing to him, _Where is the Pumpkin juice?_

Sooner then he would have liked it was his turn at the counter "Hi how may I help you today?" the perky brunet teenager asked with a smile. "What ever drink you recommend." He said with a flirty smile of his own. The girl behind the counter's cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at the menu board behind her. "Well personally I would recommend the lemonade" Deciding that he might as well, he ordered one large lemonade. The girl smiled, punched something into the machine in front of her and said "that will be 4.25 please." Scorpius furrowed his brow _4.25 what? _ he had no clue about muggle money, figuring a Galleon would more then cover it he pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and handed it to her.

By the look on her face this obviously wasn't acceptable. "Uh…Sir you have to pay."

Going to reach for the cool looking yellow drink he stopped and said "I just did."

But the muggle girl wasn't buying it. "No you didn't. I don't know what this thing is but I know that it is not 4.25."

The young wizard clearly did not see what the problem was "It's a Galleon, it should more then cover it. I have plenty more if it doesn't." reaching back into that pocket he pulled out five more and pushed them across the neon green counter towards her. The girl just shook her head. "No sir I don't think you're understanding me. What ever these _coins _are, you can not pay with them. They are not money, are you aware it is illegal to try and use fake money?" her friendly voice took on a condescending tone that Scorpius didn't appreciate. He was a Malfoy! "Counterfeit! How dare you accuse _me _of such things! My gold is real, I am a Malfoy!" he shouted shoving a single coin in her face, things in the small coffee shop had gone quiet, all eyes on the blonde at the counter.

Remaining calm the barista told him, "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." But Scorpius now thoroughly insulted would not budge. "Do you understand who I am? My father is on the Board of Governors at the worlds most prestigious school!" Again she asked him to leave, with more force this time. Just as he was about to pull his wand on her someone grabbed his arm.

"There you are Jeffery! I've been looking every where for you, I told you to wait by the door for five minutes and you're off causing trouble!" A female voice, attached to the hand on his arm exclaimed. Looking to whoever was touching him, about to tell them they clearly had him confused for someone else, he saw that it was none other then Lily Potter. The witch raised an eye brow at his as if to say _'do you want help or not?' _ deciding to play along solely because he knew barely anything about muggles, slowly he turned his head back to the girl who now was looking at Lily for an explanation. With a smile Lily said "You will have to excuse my friend, he is not well. He has a habit of wandering off and becoming delusional. I'm so sorry."

Scorpius took that as his cue to gather his gold, stuff it in his pocket and let her pull him out of the safely down the street she let go of him and crossed her arms "You are aware that Gringotts does gold to muggle money exchanges aren't you?" she asked without turning around. The slightly older wizard followed close behind, it looked like she knew where she was going. "Well yes… but I can't see why they would want scraps of colorful paper when they could have gold." He admitted honestly.

Lily let out an amused laugh, the patronizing kind used when speaking to a child. "The paper is just a representation. Different bills stand in for different amounts of gold. It's really just a lighter, spatially efficient way of carrying around gold." She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Grabbing hold of his wrist again she pulled him off the curb and darted across the street. "Gold also has a different value in the Muggle world after all there are a lot of them and there really isn't that much gold out there. It only seems like it to us because there is, in terms of global population, very few of us, and we all have it." _She sure seems to know a lot about this… _he thought.

"And just so you know, that drink was only about fourteen Sickles." The look on her face as she spoke told him that she was amused by the whole lemonade debacle.

Feeling completely unamused by her poking fun at him and still felling incredibly parched Scorpius demanded to know why she even helped him,

"Because," She said stopping to face him "It would not look good on your father's efforts at salvaging what he can of your family's name if his son was arrested for threatening a muggle girl with a wand." Thinking about it for a second he realized she was right.

Draco had done much to separate himself from the image he was molded into during his childhood and make a respectable name for himself. Glad to come out alive he was able to fully come to terms with the harsh reality that if he wanted something he would no longer simply be handed it on a silver platter, but would have to work hard (in some cases harder than others) to obtain it. His name alone would no longer be his golden ticket so to speak. If anything being a Malfoy would in the post war years would be a hinderance.

"Oh yeah… thanks then." he said. Lily waved it off "Besides people would notice when the only heir of the last ancient, fully Pureblood family went missing. After all the police don't have owls and your one phone call would probably be useless. I have a feeling Malfoy Manor doesn't have a phone number… or that you even know how to use a telephone in the first place."

"A telly-O-phone?" What ever it was he thought it sounded unpleasant.

"It's a muggle thing. Hey just wondering, what exactly are_ you_ doing in this part of town?" She asked him because she couldn't come up with one reason as to why _Scorpius Malfoy _would be walking around alone in the muggle world.

"I was feeling… curious. Why should it even matter, there is nothing saying I can not go where I please. _Is there?_" he answered feeling irritated by how her question implied there was a reason for him not to be in that part of town.

Lily shook her head not wanting to start an argument and began walking, "No. No there isn't. Now we better get going, you're lucky I brought money, we have a lot to see."

"We?" he clearly wasn't thrilled with the thought of traipsing around with her. She was a Potter after all.

She shot him a look and with a smirk said; "Well I mean unless you know how to get back to Diagon Alley from here."

* * *

this is probably the best place in all of Europe." The youngest of the Potters said dragging her companion into a little unassuming looking place. "Okay, maybe not Europe but it's the best England, thats a fact." she added seeing the skeptical look on his face.

The little restaurant was decorated in a simple old worldly theme with a light and airy feel to it that Scorpius attributed to the gauzy white curtains that swayed back and forth over the many paneled, warped glass windows. The wooden floor had long lost it's shine, worn away by years of foot traffic, this place was warmer then the brightly colored shop where they were before, only being cooled by two large ceiling fans instead of and air conditioning system. The walls were painted a creamy white and decorated in a nautical motif. Hung all over were knickknacks like a brass anchor, old sea charts, from the celling hung a few ship lanterns, on the counter was a replica ship's bell, and at the back, covered by more gauzy curtain was a wall of french doors that lead out to what looked like a court yard. What intrigued him the most however was the paintings, each frame was full, and not a single person was moving. The one that caught his eye was of three Mermaids sun bathing on a rock and combing their hair. They looked nothing like mermaids he had ever seen besides the tail, all were beautiful and human looking, as opposed to the alluring but vicious creatures he was acquainted with.

Noticing what his eyes had fixated on, Lily spoke so only he could hear, "Aren't they pretty? It's to bad they don't really look like that… I used to think that maybe they were half breeds, but it's just how the muggles think they look. And before you ask, no their paintings don't talk or move. Neither do the photos."

Remembering the moving pictures that he saw in the windows earlier he wondered _if they were not photographs then what were they?_

Instead of dwelling on that thought he followed her over to the counter where a friendly looking woman of about thirty stood. She reminded him of Isabella, the witch who's mother owned the Three Broomsticks.

"G'd Afternoon Lily, will ye be havin' your regular?" She asked taking out a little note book and a pen. Lily nodded and the woman scribbled something into the book, "An' what will ye bloke take?" she jabbed her thumb in his direction. Lily looked at him for a second with a smirk , "Scorpius will have the same." the way she said it would have worried him if he hadn't been distracted by the look the woman was giving him, "Scorpius aye, there's a name ye ain't be hearin' every day."

Before he could even think of some snide retort, Lily was again making up some story about him "Well…his huh, his parents, they're big on constellations. They're both um… Astronomers." The lie satisfied her curiosity, weather it was because she believed it or saw through Lily's words the teens didn't know but at least she wasn't pushing.

Once seated Scorpius leaned across the two person table "Astronomers?" he hissed incredulously keeping his voice low so no one would hear, all these muggles made him just a little nervous. She shrugged innocently, "Well what was I supposed to do, for muggles being named after some celestial body is a little _strange. _ Everyone in our community thinks nothing of it only because your blood line has been doing it since before the time of the founders. "

Huffing he sat back and crossed his arms, it made his parents sound like some set of loons. _ Draco and Astoria Malfoy: the astronomers, they're big on constellations! _How undignified! The thought of his parents lying on the ground looking at the stars and discussing the constellations and why one would better suit their son made him think of the Scarmander twins. The two boys a year ahead of him, who spoke of the stars as if they were part Centaur. Hardly anyone ever understood what they said to each other, alone they could cary a conversation but together they sounded like He was pretty sure their mother was a platinum blond….

Sitting in an awkward silence they waited for their food to arrive.

" 'ere ye's go. Enjoy." Said the woman who had taken their order as she sat down two plates of fish and chips along with two big, cold Root-beer floats. They thanked her and began to dig in. Well Lily did.

Noticing that Scorpius wasn't eating, but rather eyeing the food as if it was about to hex him the moment he took his eyes off of it, Lily rolled her eyes. "It's not going to hurt you. Don't tell me you've never had fish and chips?"

Hesitantly he tore his grey eyes from the meal on the plate to look at her. " No, I have not." he admitted, quickly glancing back at his plate. Lily shook her head at his antics "How? They serve it at both the Hogshead and The Three Broomsticks."

Scorpius shrugged.

"I've never been in the Hogshead, it's not exactly the best kind of place to…. be seen in. And for your information I choose to stick with warm Shepherd's pie and a cold Butterbeer. Unless it's hot out, then I go with a sandwich."

"Alright. I can see the Shepherd's pie thing. No hurry up, the ice cream in your Root-beer float is going to melt." she tapped her own glass as if to make him see that it wasn't getting any colder.

Instead of drinking he just looked more suspicious, "_Root _beer?" he asked not at all liking the way that sounded. The brown color didn't do much to make it appealing, for all he knew it may have had dirt in it. After all it was a muggle drink.

She sighed and took a sip of her own. "It doesn't have any roots in it Malfoy, calm down. I guess you could say that its the muggle equivalent of Butterbeer."

Considering this for a moment he picked up his glass and took a wary sip. The sweet, cool, bubbly liquid, mixed with the vanilla ice-cream passed through his lip, satisfying his growing thirst and leaving a wondrously delicious taste in his mouth. Seeing the look of surprised delight on his face Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Told you it was good."

"Well I couldn't be too sure, Potter." Malfoy said putting his glass down to try the food. Deciding that if he judgment call was good on drinks that she probably wouldn't steer him in the wrong direction in the food department.

"You know if I was going to poison you, I wouldn't have gotten the same drink. Just saying.."

* * *

Stepping off the red double decker bus, Lily announced that they had one more stop. (She had decided that a tourist bus was the best way to see all the 'important' sights in the city.) Scorpius groaned, he had learned more about the city in a few hours then he learned about goblin rebellions in six years of taking History of Magic. "Don't worry, this isn't so bad I promise." she told him as she marched them down the street.

As they walked to wherever she was taking him, he half listened to all the facts she was prattling on about. One such fact being; "Did you know that if you look at Trafalgar Square from an ariel view, that it makes the Deathly Hallows symbol? Lord Nelson was a Half-Blood, and apparently he was fascinated by the legend."

It wasn't that he didn't find what she was saying uninteresting, it was just that his thoughts were a distraction.

What he was having the hardest time understanding was how the day turned out as it had. Here he was, having more fun then he could remember having outside of school in years, in the muggle part of London, with Harry Potter's daughter! That was the part that confused him the most. He was _enjoying_ being dragged around a hot city by the daughter of Harry Potter.

While he was busy trying to wrap his head around the whole thing, Lily had led them to their destination.

"Two tickets for the 7:30." the witch said passing a few bills through the little window to the spotty teen inside the booth. Tickets in had they went inside.

"Welcome," She made a dramatic sweeping motion with her had "to the cinema."

Knowing he had absolutely no clue what that meant she added "Lets just say this makes up for the fact that their portraits don't talk."Her tone was hushed as to make certain no one else heard her words.

As the previews played she stole nervous glances at the tall, skinny, blond seated on her left. She was starting to regret buying tickets to see that particular movie. He would either find it funny or completely distasteful. When she told him what they were going to see he made no indication that it would bother him, but she was still worried. At the time it seemed like a great choice. She had already seen it with her brothers the week before and they all thought it was hilarious.

By the time the film started she was sure it wouldn't even matter if he was offended or not. She had a feeling he was more fascinated with _what _a movie was then the story.

Together they watched as the typical teenage life of the main character was turned upside-down. Upon discovering that she was the last descendant of an ancient line of witches, she is summoned to the magical realm (assessable only through her linen closet) to prepare to take her place on the Magical Council when her grandmother retires. Now not only did she have to deal with boys and back stabbing best friends, she also had to deal with handling new powers and a mysterious supernatural enemy.

At some points aspects of the magical world in the movie mirrored that in real life, and at other times they were far fetched at best. The witches and warlocks did not require the use of wands or spells, Wizards (who were completely different) did need wands and spells, and there was no magical schools. However the council did in some ways seem eerily similar to the Ministry (especially the Wizengamot), there was a prison guarded by a terrible creature that slowly drained all happiness, and there was a magical ball game played on broomsticks.

Lily suspected someone with knowledge of the wizarding world may have been involved somewhere along the line in the making of the movie.

As the credits rolled they gathered their empty popcorn buckets and soda cups to make way toward the exit. "What did you think?" asked Lily. She dropped her garbage in the waste bin and looked at Scorpius who was looking a little awestruck. Snapping she tore his attention away from whatever was going on inside his head. "Wha? Oh uh- their idea of the magical world was absurd to say the least." he answered seriously. For a moment she feared that her worries were being confirmed, but then he smiled brightly with that wonderstruck look in his eyes. "How do they do it? If they don't have magic how do they make something so amazing?"

Lily shrugged, she sort of knew the answer but had no idea how to explain it to him. "I guess it's science. Since they weren't born with magic they invented the next best thing."

"Well this is where we part." Lily said as they came to a stop out side the Leaky Cauldron. Glancing up at the ancient looking sign Scorpius frowned slightly. "I believe you are right." For a moment they both awkwardly lingered on the side walk, unsure of what to say. "Um. Well I had fun today…it was…. enlightening." He said. Agreeing she bid him goodnight and began walking away. She had only gotten fifteen feet before she stopped, turned, and called for his attention. "You're not so bad. For a Slytherin anyway."

"Any you're not so bad yourself. Remember to watch out for that gravity."

* * *

Scorpius stumbled out of the fire place into his family's living room. Dusting him self odd he looked up to see his mother. She did not look happy. Her hands were on her hips, eyes narrowed, and jaw clenched.

"And just where have you been Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy? It most certainly does not take over nine hours to buy school supplies. You better have a good reason as to why you were gone so long."

The boy in question looked around the room desperately as if the right answer would come to him from one of the arm chairs or the sofa. Not meeting her eyes he guiltily admitted "I ran into a…. a friend. I guess we lost tack of time."

Astoria Malfoy's eyes' softened. "Did you have fun with her?" she asked. Her son's eyes widen and his eyes snapped up to meet her's, "How did you know that it was a…" She waved his question off, not dignifying it with a response. She was no fool she could read her son, when it came to hiding his emotions he was just like his father. "I'll assume you didn't get around to shopping then?" He shook his head.

"Well," she smiled slyly, "in that case you and I will go tomorrow. I was planing on heading there anyway. I think I am in need of a new fall wardrobe. Actually this works out perfectly, I hate having to carry all those bags from store to store after all."

Scorpius groaned loudly. No one shopped more aggressively then his mother, it was like some sick sport. He was not looking forward to the next morning.

* * *

**Thoughts? I'm going to try to make the chapters a bit longer, I don't know if they will all be this long, but I'll make sure they're decently long. Ps. Brownie points to any one who knows where the Linen closet thing is from.**


	5. Dueling Club

**Dueling Club**

Lily Potter couldn't be more excited then she was right now, she thought she might just burst. She had been waiting for this day for the last five years. She was finally a member of the Hogwarts Senior Dueling club, an exclusive, invitation only club for sixth and seventh years that excel in the dueling portion of D.A.D.A. She joined the Junior Dueling Club (open to everyone) her first year, studied any book she could get her hands on, talked her father into showing her his best tricks ( that alone put her ahead of most people) and practiced at least three times a week.

She could admit it was probably a bit obsessive but all that work wasn't to just get into the club. She didn't know exactly what she was going to do when she left school, but she knew it would be something that involved working against dark magic. She had been considering Law Enforcement like her father or Curse Breaking like her uncle but at times she wasn't sure. Working in the Anti-dark arts field was such a _Potter _thing to do and Lily wanted to be her own person. She was thankful she still had some time to decide. Her oldest brother was following in their father's foot steps career wise, Al was hoping to spend a few years studying before becoming a professor, as for her self, she wanted to stand out and be her own person. To be _Lily _Potter not Lily _Potter. _Sometimes she felt that she was being selfish for wanting that but at other times she couldn't help but wanting it more then anything else.

Lily all but skipped down the corridor to the Great Hall where the club would be holding it's first meeting of the year.

Upon arrival she found her older brother and took a seat next to him on the great big mat that took the place of the house tables. Quickly the room filled with all of those who received an invitation. All forty students sat quietly as the instructor spoke.

"Welcome, I hope all of you had a good summer, and congratulations. Each of you has proved yourself to be one of the best in your house and year, that is something to be proud of. " There was a quiet round of clapping before she continued. "Now before we begin I want to lay down a few rules. Although we are a dueling club I do not want anyone being seriously injured so listen up."

"First, there will be no using of extremely dangerous spells. If you wouldn't want it used on you, then don't use it on someone else.

Second, under no circumstances whatsoever will anyone used dark magic. If anyone does, not only will they be kicked out of the club, but they will risk expulsion.

Third, no fooling around thats how people get hurt.

Fourth, have fun!" Clapping her hands together she smiled at the students who sat eagerly awaiting further instruction.

"Now everyone partner up, I want it boy-girl, with someone from a different house then your own."

Looking around her, she saw people hesitantly pairing off. She too was unsure who to work with. Yes she was friendly with people in other houses, but she didn't really know any guys in other houses well enough to just go and work with them. Well there was one…

On the other side of the mat stood Scorpius, also partnerless at the moment. Seeing that he looked slightly awkward standing alone, (outside of Slytherin not many people were keen on the idea of getting to know a Malfoy.) she marched over to him looking determined.

"Looks like it's gonna be me and you, Malfoy." Lily announced in her no-buts-about-it manner. The blond snapped himself out of his thoughts startled by her,obviously he was to distracted to see her come over. "Wha- oh, alright then…" he said seeing that he didn't actually have a choice in the matter. Not that he minded working with her anyway.

Their task was to practice shield charms against simple hexes and jinxes, the kind that were used for (mostly) harmless pranking more then to duel with. Unless you were of course a first year.

"So Lily how was the rest of your summer?" Scorpius asked sending a jet of water at her. Blocking the water effortlessly she said, "It was alright. Spent it mostly with my brothers and finishing homework I put off. How about you?"

Blocking her Jelly legs jinx he shrugged "Eh, it was sort of boring. I finished home work earlier in the summer, my mother is strict about that. I'm just glad to be back."

Quickly the pair became one of the best. They seemed to feed off each other's energy as the fought, the more one put effort into a hex the stronger a shield or counter jinx the other cast in return. After a while to the other members if the Senior dueling club, it became natural to see the pair work together, as though, if either was to partner with another member it would shift drastically the dynamics of the club.

* * *

Over the next few months Lily and Scorpius became fast friends going from a smile and a wave in the hall to walks around the lake and study buddies in a period of less then two months.

It was mid November and all the leaves had fallen from the trees leaving the branches looking skeletal against the bleak grey sky, the grass was dead and there was a chill in the wind that made the students of Hogwarts hug their cloaks tightly for warmth as they scurried from the castle to the green houses.

The cold however couldn't deter Scorpius or Lily who were sitting on the frozen ground on the shore of the lake far out of the view of most Hogwarts students. The reason for this was the looks they ofter received when walking to class together. It made people uncomfortable to see people break the norm. The Malfoy-Potter rivalry was as much of a staple in the whole of the wizarding community as the Slytherin- Gryffindor rivalry was to the adolescent population.

Very few people said anything for fear of getting on the bad side of either family but it was clear what people's opinions were on the friendship.

"No one had you know… bothered you about us being friends?" Scorpius asked pushing a piece of his white-blond hair out of his eyes. Next to him Lily adjusted her scarf and looked him in the eye. "No. And I wouldn't care even if they did." for a moment she was silent ,looking back to the water gently lapping onto the shore "People are always going to talk about us, so why bother getting upset? Did you know my grandmother, the one I'm named after was best friends with a Slytherin? She was a muggleborn Gryffindor." Lily's voice was quiet, almost distant as if she were on the opposite shore instead of sitting next to him.

Scorpius shook his head. Of course he knew about that, everyone knew the story of Severus Snape, he was hailed as a hero especially in his house. In the aftermath of the war Slytherin clung tightly to the legacy of the former head of said house in an attempt to salvage what ever dignity it could while trying to shake it's dark reputation.

Somehow hearing it from Lily made it sound less like part of the grand legend that surounds Harry Potter and more like something ordinary, something that could be done by two regular people.

" Befriending members of the rival house, marrying muggleborns, surviving killing curses… you know us Potters. We tend to do things our own way." Lily said jokingly. There was an awkward silence that filled the air for a few minutes.

Finally Lily spoke up. "So are you going to Hogsmead this weekend?"

Scorpius shrugged "Eh, I don't think so. All my friends made other plans or are staying here. What about you?"

"I might, Cassidy and I aren't on speaking terms at the moment-" Scorpius looked as if he were going to question why she and her best friend were not talking but she waved him off and continued on, "Tara has detention, Rose is going on a date and if I asked i know Albus would say yes, but he wouldn't really want me tagging along with him and his friends so I don't really know yet."

"Some good friends we've got, Aye." he chortled. Lily nodded, she was not really looking forward to this weekend. It was bad enough that her best friend wasn't speaking to her over something that was (in her opinion) not a big deal. With the way things were going it looked like she'd be spending her weekend holed up in the castle with nothing to do.

" Scorpius I have an idea. Why don't you and I go and hang out in town together… You know since all our friends ditched us and what not." She suggested with a smile. The blond considered this for a moment "Alright, sounds good to 'll Be a hell of a lot better then being here."

Lily silently agreed, she was looking forward to getting off the grounds. Even if it was just Hogsmead it was still a change of scenery. They were both aware that this would set the rumor mill spinning at top speed. Although they both chose to ignore the gossip neither was oblivious to the fact that people whispered about them when they walked down the hall together or were seen in the library studying.

That night Scorpius found himself looking forward to the weekend more then usual. He hoped that the trip to the little village would be nearly as fun as the day back in the summer when he ran into her in London. He would just have to wait and see.

* * *

_So I want to apologize for taking an eternity to update life has just been so crazy I was in a play, then had research papers, a death in the family, and then finals. Writing sort of just got forgotten about but I'm completely done with school (at least till I leave for collage) so I have loads of free time!Thank you for sticking with me 3_


	6. Hogsmeade

**A/N: Hi… so it has been a while. I want to apologize for that, i know I'm not the best at updating but even for me this is a long time. I have good reason though! My summer started off incredibly busy between graduating, grad parties, and getting ready to move to college things were hectic. Then as luck would have it my computer's logic board fried, causing it to freeze and need to restart. I'm pretty much broke so it took me the rest of the summer to save the money I needed in order to have it repaired, and then college started and well here we are. So thank you guys for all the reviews I've gotten and for sticking around all summer 3**

* * *

**Hogsmeade**

Saturday came with steel grey skies and a bone chilling wind, but the students of Hogwarts were not deterred from their trip to the local village, as all were looking forward to the escape from the confines of their school.

In Gryffindor tower Lily Potter scuttled around her dorm room trying to decide what to wear into town that day. Lily was not very concerned with fashion typically but this was not a typical circumstance, she was not sure if this was a date or just a trip with a friend. For that reason she was hesitant to dress to nicely but was also afraid that she might show up not looking nice enough. In the end she settled for wearing a warm grey sweater, a nice pair of jeans, and the heavy wool cloak she rarely ever wore.

Half way to the entrance hall where she planned to meet Scorpius, she stated having doubts about wearing the cloak. What if it _wasn't _a date and he thought she was being ostentatious? It was quite fancy and very _very _Gryffindor. The heavy wool was dyed a rich scarlet, with golden trimming and fastened with a golden lion's head. The bold garment had been a gift for her sixteenth birthday from her Aunt Audrey and Aunt Fleur at the latter's insistence that ; _"No girl's wardrobe is complete without one pièce de resistance." _and over the years Lily learned that there was no talking her aunt out of anything she as adamant about, it just resulted in her muttering in french.

Down in the entrance hall Scorpius nervously waited Lily's arrival. He was not sure why he was so nervous, after all they spent plenty of time together… just not in Hogsmeade. To say that his feelings in regards to the spunky redhead didn't go beyond friendship would be a blatant lie. There were times where the seventh year would lay in bed at night after a study session with her in the library and think about the way she would wrinkle her nose when she was stuck on something or the way she bit the end of her quill as she thought about what to write. It was becoming increasingly common for his mind to wander onto the subject of her when they were not together and he wondered if she thought of him as often as he thought of her. Scorpius felt there was no need to keep up appearances like he did with his other friends. Things were easy with her.

* * *

The walk into town was filled with pleasant chatter about homework which turned into a conversation about class that led to charms, onto levitation, then to brooms and somehow it finally led to Quidditch.

It was usually a topic they tried to avoid when together, and when they did talk bout it they stuck strictly to professional teams only, for obvious reasons.

"You know the next match is Slytherin versus Gryffindor…" Scorpius said offhandedly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction.

"Yes I am aware of that," She replied defensively, " it's a week before we get out for Christmas Holiday. Funny 'init?"

He shrugged not sure how a Quidditch match's date could be funny.

"Think about it Scorp. The week before we leave for _Christmas _the _Gryffindor _and _Slytherin _teams will be playing each other." She said stressing it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Raising an eyebrow at her he admitted "I still don't see how that is funny. I suppose it's good planing on their part, everyone will be so worked up about the holiday that it will keep tensions low… well lower then they usually are. It is not really funny though." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Scorpius think about the house colors. Gryffindor is red, Slytherin is green. Now think about what colors people typically associate with Christmas time…"

The blond thought for a second and then felt quite embarrassed that he had not see it was rather obvious. "Oh, yes well I suppose that is funny. It does seem like something McGonagall would do on purpose. I do sincerely hope the match doesn't put a damper on your spirits."

"And why would it?" She asked narrowing her eyes.

"Well if I were you it would certainly put a damper on mine to be defeated by my biggest rival." He explained with a haughty look. Lily snorted, "In that case I should apologize in advance for ruining your holiday. You don't stand a chance."

"I beg to differ, the only way Gryffindor could win is if there seeker managed to actually stay on her broom." Scorpius sneered.

Lily shot him a dirty look and huffed "Correct me if I am wrong but was in not you who said that gravity seems to have it out for me?"

He couldn't help but chuckle a little "Yes. I suppose you will be counting on me catching you again?"

With a flip of her long red hair she replied saying "The only thing I hope you catch during that game is a cold!" With the village now in sight she picked up her pace

"Oh and so you know Malfoy, there are no _friends _in Quidditch. There are only _teammates _and _opponents_."

"Wouldn't want it any other way _Potter."_

* * *

The pair visited a few shops doing some Christmas shopping for their friends and family. Many Galleons and several heavy shopping bags latter (most of which were Lily's) they finished their shopping.

"Ugh! I think my arm is going to fall off." Lily exclaimed shifting the heavy bags in her hands. "Was it really necessary to buy all of those gifts?" Scorpius asked trying not to laugh at her as she trudged along besides him. "Of course it was! I had to buy each of my friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, my brothers, my mother and my father a gift. I have nine cousins, plus my God-brother, I can't just leave someone out!" He rolled his eyes at her and offered to take a few bags. "My Mum drags me along to cary her bags all the time." After a few more minutes of coaxing her load was significantly lighter.

Scorpius couldn't imagine what it would be like to have nine cousins. He had one on his mother's side who was somewhat close in age to himself, but they were not very close. She was a three years younger then him and was sorted into Ravenclaw. They spent Christmas dinner together at Malfoy manor most years and could make pleasant small talk but they had nothing in common and hardly sought each other out. Lily's cousins on the other had were all in the same house as her, every one of them (these things tend to run in the family.) They were always together, talking, laughing, sharing things, cheering at quidditch matches, helping each other and just hanging out. He could recall multiple times that one of their birthdays fell on a day during the school year. The family members would all sit together and celebrate as if they were having a family dinner in that person's honor, giving gifts, singing and looking as if they couldn't be happier. His cousin had not ever sought him out to even wish him a happy birthday… not that he knew when her's was either. He felt not for the first time envious of Lily's large family and made a mental note to seek out his own cousin latter, he'd ask his mother when her birthday was so he could send her a card.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Lily asked nudging him with her elbow. "Huh? Oh, I was just thinking… my family is small and we aren't very close…is it nice to have a big family?" He asked. She shrugged, "I guess, it's all I've ever known. It is really fun some times and other times it is very chaotic, especially when food is involved. Speaking of which, I'm starved how about you?"

Reaching the Three Broomsticks Scorpius suddenly became very nervous. "Hey Lil it looks pretty busy and well maybe we should.. I don't know.. maybe we.. it looks crowded." He said lamely, cursing himself for sounding like a babbling fool. The place was more crowded then usual due to the amount of students who came down to do their shopping meaning there would be more people to stare and whisper as they ate. It was not that he was embarrassed to be seen with her, it was more that it was incredibly annoying to have a room full of people watching you while you're trying to relax with a butterbeer and talk to someone. Lily having the same thought smiled. "I know just the place to go. There won't be any one to bother us there. Unfortunately the food is not nearly as good as it is here, just so you know."

Scorpius stood out side the Hog's Head pub starring at the ancient and decrepit looking building skeptically. "This place seems a bit seedy Lily… are you sure you want to eat here?"

She laughed "Of course it's seedy looking… it's the most unsavory joint in all of Hogsmeade. Don't worry your pretty little head, you're not likely to catch anything life threatening in here. Now come on the fire ought to be nice and warm and I'm starting to lose feeling in my toes."

Lily hadn't been lying when she said the inside was worse then the exterior. It looked as if someone had not cleaned the place since it was built; the windows were covered in enough grime to block out nearly all the sunlight, the hardwood floor was beginning to look more like a dirt floor, the furniture was rickety and the air was heavy with the scent of whiskey. The place was empty save for several characters shadier then the centuries old pub itself seated at the bar. A few looked up from their drinks to size up the pair that walked through the door, and upon see that it was just two teenagers, went back to minding their own business.

Lily, ignoring them wiped her boot clad feet, removed her scarlet cloak, hung it on one of the pegs near the door and marched over to the bar. Scorpius followed suit with an air of grace that earned him another suspicious glance or two.

At the counter Lily grabbed the barman's attention. "What brings you two here? Not a place students frequent, unless it's a room ye be looking for to rent… want a little romp between the sheets, eh?" The scraggily looking man behind the bar said with a knowing little smile. "A nice little thing you are." She scoffed at his insinuation and was about to tell him where he could shove his thoughts when Scorpius stepped in, demanding an apology. "That is no way to speak to a lady. I suggest you apologize immediately."

"And who are ya to be telling me what I ought be doing?" the man sneered. Scorpius sniffed, "Trust me when I say you are better off not finding out. For to do so would make you a sorry man indeed." he replied contemptuously, a dangerous look settling in his grey eyes. Sensing an altercation a nearby patron stepped in. "Is this scum giving you two trouble?" He asked jabbing his thumb in the man's direction. "No," Scorpius replied looking to the patron with a smug grin. "not at all. Everything is just… _dandy."_

"Go fetch Abe." The barman did as told, muttering under his breath as he went.

A few minutes latter an ancient looking man with bright blue eyes and a goat like appearance stood in front of them. "Sorry about him, Red. Now what can I get you and the lad?"

"Just the usual."

* * *

While Lily and Scorpius waited for their food they settled down at an empty table near the fire. "Thank you." Lily said, looking up from the spot on the table where she had been picking at the old wood with her fingernail. "You're welcome. I'm not sure for what, I didn't do much." Scorpius admitted. "Well you defended me and that was enough. Although I think he was insinuating things about you too."

"I don't care much for what is said about me, but he had no right to speak that way about you." The near altercation at the bar had clearly soured Scorpius's mood and Lily thought it best to try and change the subject.

"So have you made your plans for Christmas?" She asked, "I'm going home to spend yet another holiday with my family. Let's home their cheerfulness doesn't overwhelm me."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the Malfoy family in Santa hats and terrible sweaters. "Oh dear. Well Merlin forbid you are exposed to holiday cheer, I've heard that stuff can be deadly." She chortled. He clearly wasn't as amused as she was. "In my family it just might be. Their idea of holiday fun is sitting at a table set more ornately then usual with enough food for half of London, talking about politics, and family traditions that should have died out centuries ago. I only go home because it would break Mum's heart if I didn't. Enough about my miserable lot, what about you?" He asked looking suddenly much more interested in the conversation.

"I'm also going home. All my aunts, uncles and cousins are coming over to our house this year instead of my grandparents. Something about my grandma needing to take it easy, although i doubt she will. This should be an interesting experience… dad adores that kind of thing, but mum gets fed up with it after a few hours. She isn't a fan of the noise and the chaos especially in her own home. I have a feeling one of the boys might try and blow something up." To Lily the thought of things being blown up was not a foreign one, between her uncles, her brothers, and her cousins, it was better to be concerned when something _didn't _blow up then when it did. Scorpius on the other hand was clearly appalled by the though of such mayhem. "You mean blow up, as in _boom?" _ He asked. "Yes. Boom!" She said flicking her fingers for effect. "Don't worry. No one gets hurt, badly anyway."

"Badly? Lily it all sounds rather barbaric if you ask me." he admitted wrinkling his nose at the thought of pyrotechnics at the dinner table.

Lily frowned, not caring for the tone of disgust he was using. "Perhaps it is barbaric, but at least we know how to enjoy ourselves. That is more then some people can say." They both knew this sort of bickering was a dangerous road to travel down, too much bad blood between their families made it easy to get carried away quickly. It was one thing to argue over what professional quidditch team, or even what house team would come out on top that year, but they stayed as far from family matters as possible. Unfortunately they were both the proud, stubborn sort of individuals, the kind that found it hard to admit fault. For a moment they held each other's defiant gaze, challenging them to make a move and start a fight. Eventually though, Scorpius' resolve broke, knowing he was the one who insulted her first. With a sigh he looked away. "Oh look, I think that is our food."

Scorpius watched in near awe as Lily ate her food, barely noticing the fact she almost missed her mouth. He thought the way that the firelight illuminated her hair and made her skin glow was nice. She wasn't the most gorgeous girl in Hogwarts, her eyes were not breath taking, her pale, freckled skin was not flawless, and her nose was just slightly crooked from the time she broke it. Not gorgeous, but pretty none the less and he liked it. It was then and there that he decided he would do it, not today but before they returned to London. He wondered wether or not she returned his affections, there were times when he was sure she did, but at other times he thought that he was only seeing those signals because he wanted to see them. It couldn't hurt, he thought, the worst thing is that he embarrassed himself a little. She was not the kind of girl to mock people, one of the main reasons he was falling for her.

It made him want to laugh, Lily Potter was the last person he ever expected to develop feelings for, well except for one of her brothers…

There he was, sitting in a shady pub, the kind people like him never spare a second glance, making what he would latter reflect to be the best decision of his life.

Life is funny like that sometimes...


End file.
